Printing-press feed-control mechanism



May 4,1926.-

J. R. BLAINE PRINTING PRESS FEED CONTROL MECHANISM Filed May 5. 1924 ...r W, ma \\w, L?? @w 0v W l1- {-l m Q f Y a N m h mm. pw? wf W J M www Q. M V l W Tl QM. QN H|| QN H S .uw H uw uw@ .|.,V l @www .11 n u r o NN m |IWwmhl|yi mw ITIN Patented May 4, 19267.

UNITED sTATEs Josnrn n. puma,

PATENT oFFICE.

OF OAX PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MIEHLE PRINTING PRES! & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION F 11111415n Application led May 3,

To all wkomfit may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH R. BLAINE, a citizen of the United States, residin at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and tate l of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-Press Feed-Control Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to printing presses and more particularly to feed control mechanism therefor.

One object of the invention is to provide simple, reliable and efficient controlmechanism which is carried on a feeder pile frame, is driven byy means from the main frame, and is separably connected to the driving and other cooperating parts on the main frame to facilitate automatic separation and connection of said parts.

Another object is to provide simple feed pile control mechanism adapted to meet the various requirements under service` conditions. l

These and other objects are accomplished by means of the arrangement disclosed on the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the main frame of a printing press and -its associated feeder pile frame, parts being .Y section, together with .the driving and contro mechanism embodying my invention; an

v Figure 2, is an enlarged detail side elevation of part of the feeder pile control and actuating mechanism.

The various novel features of the invention will be Ia parent from the following description an drawings and will be particularly pointed zout in the appended claims. lReferring to the figuresof the drawings, it will be noted that my invention is illustratedin connection with a printing press having a main frame 10 in which the printing couple, not shown, is operatively supported. rIll'he feeder ple'frame 11 normally is locked to the main frame' 10 by any suitable means, such as a hook 12'carried by 5 the feeder pile frame and engaging a cooperating locking lug 13 on the main frame.

The feeder pile frame 11 is movably mounted upon a support 14 and may readily be PRINTING-PRESS FEED-CONTROL MECHANISM.

1924. Serial N0, 710,760.

moved away from the main frame 10 to facilitatethe operation of make ready by merely raising theJ locking hook 12 and withdrawing the feeder ile frame.

Vertically movab y mounted within the feeder pile frame is a support, 15 upon which the pile 16 of sheets is supported. The feed pile support 15 is sus ended by chains 17 at each end of the fee er pile frame which pass over suitable cooperating sprockets 18 carried by a shaft 19 at each end of the frame, only one of which shafts is shown. Accordingly it will be appreciated that when each shaft 19 is rotated in a given di rection the feeder pile support 15 with its pile of sheets will be elevated and when rotated in the opposite direction will be lowered. For thi-s purpose a worm gear 20 is mounted upon the associated shaft 19 and meshes with and is driven by a worm 21 fixedly mounted upon a shaft 22. Also fixed to the shaft 22 is a ratchet wheel 23. Ac-

cordingly when the ratchet wheel 23 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the feed pile will be elevated a given amount. A pawl 24 is provided for periodically engaging a tooth of the ratchet wheel and driving theA same through a given arc for raising the feed pile increment by incrementin accordance with requirements. This pawl is pivot- 'ed at 25 to a lever -26 loosely supported on the shaft 22. An arm 27 forming a part of the lever 26 has pivotally connected to it, one

end of a reciprocating rod 28, the other end of which terminates 1n a shoe 29 having a fiat surface 30 separably connected to a roller 31 on an actuating lever arm 32 mounted upon a shaft 33 carried in the main frame' 10, which shaft 33 also has connected to it a lever 34 which may be considered the actuatin source. It will be seen, therefore, that as t e lever 34 is oscillated, lthe rod 28 will be reciprocated for rocking the lever 26 and accordingly the pawl 24. The rod 28 is sufficiently heavy to return downwardly due to gravity. If desired, however, ya spring may be used for assisting such downward movement. The rod 28 may be supported from a bracket 35 carried on a corner post 36 of the feeder pile frame, and the connection between the shoe 29 at the lower end -of the rod 28 and the actuatin lever 32 is a butt connection so that as the mes are moved apart said butt connection is automatically broken and when the frames are moved toward each other, said connection is automatically made.

4Referring again to the pivotally mounted pawl 24, it will be notedthat Vit is backed by a compression spring 37 coiled around a rod 38 and operative between an abutment 39 at one end of the pawl 24fand an abutment 40 carried by the lever 26. As shown, the spring 37 is yieldably holding the pawl away from and out of engagement with the ratchetwheel 23 because the abutment 39.

is locked at a point below the straight line connecting the abutment 40 and pivot point 25. However, if conditions were reversed, that is, with the abutment 39 locked labove the straight line connecting the abutment 40 and pivot point 25 the pawl 24 would be pressed into engagement with the ratchet wheel 23. Whether or not the pawl engages the ratchet wheel 23 for actuating the same through a given arc, depends upon the opel ative height of the pile to be referred to hereinafter. A leaf spring 41 carried by the lever 26 is provided'with a `V-shaped portion 42 for cooperating with the pointed end 43 of'a plate 44 secured tothe top of the pawl 24. This V-shaped portion 42 of the leaf spring 41 cooperates with the point 43 of the plate 44 in a mannersuch that when the pawl 24 is about to snap down or up, said snapl action is made more positive and mo-re accurately timed, said point engagement between the point 43y and the spring portion 42 being relatively sensitive.

A guide dog 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 on a relatively stationary bracket and is provided with a projection 47 which, in effect has a cam action and lies within the path of movement ofa portion of the head of the pawl 24 so that as the pawl with its bracket 26 isrocked'in a clockwise direction, the pawl 24 causes the guide dog 45 to pivot in a clockwise direction, and as the pawl 24 is rocked with its bracket 26 in a counterclockwise direction, the pawl is caused to climb upon and over the projection 47 of the dog 45 so that the pawl u on each reciprocation is thrown upward y and yieldably locked by the spring 37 away from the ratchet wheel 23. The pawl 24 is given a dipping action, varying in amount each time, and also an increasing amount until the pawl is forced down past the center line into engagement with the ratchet wheel 23 for rotating same in a clockwise direction for raising the pile a given increment. This increasing dipping action of the pawl results from the gradually decreasing height of the pile, and the dipping action is transmitted through an adjustable screw 48 carried in a lever 49 secured to a rock shaft 50 to which also is secured an arm 51 which is pivotally connected to one end of a link 52, the other end of which is pivotally connected at 53 to one arm 54 of a bell crank lever 55, the other arm 56 of which underlies and supports an arm 57 of a lever pivotally supported at 58 on a bracket 59 formed integrally with the main frame 10. The other arm 60 of the lever has mounted in its free end a pile control finger 61 which moves down into engagement with the top sheet of the pile each time an associated gripper 62 passes down toward the pile for gripping a sheet of material. The gripper 62 is Vmounted in any suitably actuating lever arm 63, which has a projection 64 which passes under and engages the lever arm 58 so that as the gripper 62 is raised through its lever arm 63, the pile control linger also will be raised, Vit being understood that the pile control finger 61 and the gripper 62 fall as a result of their own weight. A tension spring-65, one end of which is anchored to the feeder pile frame, has its other end connected to the bell crank i lever arm 54 so that when the gripper 62 and the pile control finger 61 pass downwardly into engagement with the top sheet, causing the lever arm 57, to rise, the lever arm 56 rises under the tension ofspring 65 and the screw 48 is caused to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction for depressing the pawl 24 and, as mentioned above, as sheets are taken one at a timefrom the pile. the ypile control finger 61 swings downwardly an increased amount permitting the screw 48 to pass downwardly anincreased amount for moving the pawl 24 downwardly an increased amount until the latter is snapped by the spring 37 into engagementwith the ratchet 23, whereupon, because of the constant oscillation of the pawl 24, through the arm 27, the ratchet wheel 23 is caused to rotate through a given arc in a clockwise direction for elevating the feed pile a given increment.

Itis to be noted again that the pile control finger-61 is carried by the bracket 59 on the main frame and that the bell crank l moved into operative association with the.

main frame 10. A downwardly extending finger 66 operatively connected with the lever arm 56 by rocking in a counterclockwise direction passes into engagement with a stationarfvY part and thereby limits the upward swinging movement of saidy 'arm 56 so that the latter will not rise above the lever arm 7. In this way, when the pile frame 11 1s moved into operative position, the arm 56 will properly pass under arm 57.

As shown in full. lines in Figure 2, a lock member 67 pivotally mounted at 68 is in a non-lookin position, but when it is swung in. a cloc wise direction into its dotted line position, it engages the plate 44 on pawl 24 for locking the pawl in inoperative position.

When the printing press is in operation, sheets of material are withdrawn one at a time from the pile,vand at the same time the pawl 24 is oscillated from lever 34. As the pile is decreased in size, the point of the pawl dips an increased amount, until after an eighth of an inch of material, for example, is withdrawn from the pile, the pawl 24 is permitted to pass into engagement with the ratchet wheel 23 for raising the pile a given increment.

It is my intention to cover all modifications of the invention falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. a printing press, the combination of a mam frame, an actuating member carried thereby, a feeder pile frame movable toward and away from said main frame, a pile sup.- port movably mounted therein, and means for giving the ile support a feeding movement in accor ance with the feeding conditions 'and including a reciprocatory member carried by said feed pile frame and having an automatically separable butt connection with said actuating member.

2. In a printing press, the combination of a main frame, an actuating member carried thereby, a feeder pile frame movable toward and away from said main frame, a pile support movably7 mounted therein, means for glvmg the p1le support a feeding movement in accordance with the feeding conditions and including a reciprocatory member carried by said feed pile frame and having an automatically separable butt connection with said actuating member, and cooperating separabl connected pile control members carried y said frames whereby when said frames are moved apart said control mem- 'bers automatically separate and when said frames are moved toward each other said control members automatically assume their cooperative functioning positions.

3. In a printing press, the combination of a main frame, a feeder pile frame movable toward and away from said main frame, a movably mounted pile support therein, and cooperating separabl connected pile control members carried y both of said frames whereby when said frames are movedapart saidA control members automatically sepamatically assume their cooperative functioning positions.

4. In a printing press, the combination of a main frame,`a feeder pile frame movable toward and away from said main frame, a movably mounted pile support therein, a pile control member carried by said main frame, and a cooperating member carried by said feeder pile frame and for transmitting a control movement for controlling the actuation of-the pile support, said cooperating member being releasably associated with said pile control member whereby when said frames are moved apart said members automatically move out of operative association and when said frame members are moved toward each other said members are automatically moved into operative association.

5. In a printing press, the combination of a main frame, a feeder pile frame, and cooperating feeder pile control members, one carried by each of said frames and being separably associated so that when said frames are moved apart said members move out of operative association with respect to each other and when said frames are moved toward each other said members move into operative association with each other.

6. In a printing press, the combination of a main frame, a feeder pile frame, feeder pile control members, one carried by each of said frames and being separably associated so that when said .frames are moved apart said members move out of operative association with respect to each other and when said frames are moved toward each other said members move into operative associa- 'tion with each other, and feeder pile actuating members, one carried by each of said frames and separably connected with respect to each other so that when said frames are moved apart said actuating members are moved out of operative association with each other and when said frames are moved toward each other said actuating members are moved into operative association with each other.

7. In feeder pile control actuating pawl having a effective position, and a ineffective position, a member mounted for reciprocatory movement to which said pawl is pivotally connected, means for causing said pawl to be locked in its ineffective position during one part of each oscillation o Said member and means for positively lockin said pawl in said ineffective position.

igned at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of April, 1924.

JOSEPH R. BLAINE.

yieldably locked 

